Wandering The Castle
by AussieObssessed
Summary: 7 year: Harry feels a bit alone after Dumbledore's death. He takes to wandering the castle like his father and god father. Little does he realize that something is lurking beyond the corner...Harry finds Love, unexpected friends, secrets and many more...
1. The Long Awaited Letter

Harry Potter woke up panting; beads of sweat rolled down his face. He had just relived Dumbledore's death. Harry could see every detail, hear every sound, and feel every feeling that he had felt that terrible day. Dumbledore had been the best thing that had happened to him. Although a bit vague at times, he had always done what he thought was best for Harry. He had, in a sense, become Harry's father. Losing him made Harry feel that there was nothing left in his life except pain.

It had now been a month since Dumbledore's death. And every night, the same scene played out in his head. It was as if the dream was trying to tell him something. Although the death had been very hard on Harry, it had filled him with a new energy and purpose. He knew now, more than ever, that the only way to help the souls of Sirius, Dumbledore, his parents, and the countless other people who had died due to Lord Voldemort, was to destroy him forever. He had to make the prophecy come true, in his favor.

Knowing it would be a futile attempt to go back to sleep, Harry got out of bed and walked to the open window. He noticed that Hedwig wasn't back from her hunting yet. "She'll be back; she always is. She's just about the only thing in this world that I can count on not to go dead on me," Harry said to himself while leaning out the window and feeling the soft breeze. While thinking about Hedwig, Harry realized, yet again, how long Ron and Hermione were taking to send a detailed letter to him. How hard could it be to say things clearly? Harry felt the anger build up inside of him. He needed to do something! He couldn't just sit here and mope around like he had been for the past month. He kicked the bed in frustration. "Ow!" yelped Harry, "Great! Now even my own bed is against me!"

Suddenly, Harry heard an owl coming through the window. He immediately recognized the snow-white owl, Hedwig. "Hope your night was better than mine, Hedwig," Harry muttered while absentmindedly stroking the beautiful bird. It took a few sharp pecks from Hedwig for Harry to notice that she had brought a letter. "Finally! A letter! Hopefully this isn't like all those other letters that I have gotten; which all say 'Don't worry Harry. We'll come get you when it quiets down here. Just sit tight and don't do anything stupid!'" He quickly scanned the letter:

_Harry,_

_We are sorry for keeping you in the dark for so long, but we had doubts that the owls were being searched. (As a matter of fact, we still do.) But we have finally arranged for a way to get you out of there (hopefully unscathed). Have your trunk packed and be ready to go by 3:00 am today. You'll only have to survive a few more hours with the Dursleys, mate. (I never could believe that there were such vile muggles, but I must admit that your aunt, uncle, and cousin certainly do fit under that category.) Anyway, stand in front of the fireplace and we'll come and get you. I suppose you should leave a letter for your aunt and uncle. Okay, well we've got to go help Mr. Weasley. See you in a while. Oh, and sorry again Harry, we couldn't do anything about it._

_ Ron and Hermione_

"Yes! Finally, I get to get out of this place and never come back!" Harry smiled. He hurriedly packed up his stuff and made sure not to forget anything because he would under no circumstances come back here ever again. Not bothering to place his belongings neatly in his trunk, Harry finished and scanned the room one last time. It was 2:40, only 20 minutes till freedom. He reread the letter to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. When he got to the part about leaving a letter for the Dursleys, he said, "It's not as if they would care anyway. They would probably just get a cake and celebrate my leaving. Whatever, not my problem anymore. I'm just as happy to get them out of my life as they are, perhaps more." He grabbed Hedwig's cage and went downstairs to wait out another ten minutes until Ron and Hermione came to get him. Hedwig had already flown out the window, probably to the burrow.


	2. Reunions, Weddings, andLove?

CHAPTER 2

Reunions, Weddings, and... Love?

"She's been, err, frantic about the wedding."  
"Frantic? That woman is bloody mad!"

_Tick Tock Tick Tock_ Harry paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. Every minute seemed to be an hour. Where could they be? At 2:59, Harry stopped in front of the fireplace and stared at with such intensity that if someone had seen him, they would have surely thought him to be mad.

The clock struck 3. The only sound heard in the entire house was the loud snoring of Vernon Dursley. Harry's heart fell, they weren't coming after all. He turned to climb back up the stairs.

Suddenly, he heard a thump from the fireplace. He quickly turned around and saw a tall red head sprawled on the living room floor with a certain bushy haired girl standing next to him. For the second time that night, Harry smiled.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed as she gave him a huge squeeze. "It's been so long! We've missed you!"

"Good to see you, mate," Ron said as he stood up. "Oy, Hermione, give poor Harry a chance to breathe, don't want to kill him right now! That's Fleur's job."

"Sorry, Harry," Hermione said apologetically as she let go of him.

"It's all right," Harry said after taking a breath of air. "What do you mean that's Fleur's job?"

"She's been, err, frantic about the wedding," Hermione filled in while Ron shook his head disbelievingly.

"Frantic? That woman is bloody mad!" Ron corrected.

"Mad, or not, she can't be worse than the Dursleys. It will be nice to go to the burrow and get away from them," Harry hinted. Getting the hint, Hermione and Ron helped Harry drag his bag to the fireplace.

"Here, we brought floo powder." Ron pulled out a small pouch from under his cloak. Harry took a pinch and threw it into the fireplace. Suddenly, emerald green flames erupted. Taking his bag, Harry stepped in and shouted "The Burrow!" Seconds later, he began to spin. Not wanting to be sick, he closed his eyes and didn't watch different wizarding houses fly by. Finally, Harry landed on the floor by the fireplace of a bustling house. A few seconds later, Ron and Hermione joined him.

"Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley said as she pulled him into a big hug. As she let him go, other members of the Weasley family approached him as well.

"Harry, dear!" Fred squealed, imitating his mother.

"Lovely to have you back with us, darling!" George added, shaking Harry's hand vigorously.

"Couldn't be happier, old chap!" Fred said, taking Harry's hand from George and shaking it again.

"Won…" George began.

"That's _enough_, boys!" Mr. Weasley interjected. "Welcome back, Harry."

"It's great to see you guys too. Thank you for everything!" Harry said when he finally had a chance to speak. He looked around, for the first time all summer, he felt like he was at home. He noticed that one person hadn't spoken yet. Her red hair sparkled in the moonlight coming through the window. Realizing that Harry was staring at her, Ginny Weasley hurriedly started tidying things up. Harry gave her a sad smile. _It was for her safety. I love her and I don't want her to get hurt._

"Come on, Harry," Ron whispered in his ear. "You better get some sleep before Fleur wakes you up at blood five o'clock in the morning."

"Ronald Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley reprimanded.

"Sorry, Mum. But you know it's true."

"She's just…anxious."

"_Anyway_, I think now is a good time for _everyone _to sleep. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow," interrupted Mr. Weasley.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed the stairs. At Ginny's room, Hermione wished the other two good night and went to bed. Ron and Harry continued up the stairs to Ron's bedroom under the attic. As they entered, Harry was engulfed in a sea of orange. He watched as people rode on broomsticks on several posters and Ron's bedspread, all wearing orange Quidditch robes. The words _Chuddley Cannons_ was imprinted on each poster and the bedspread as well. One thing Harry had missed most about the wizarding world was the sport of Quidditch. He was glad to be back.

"Harrrrrrry!" Harry looked around in the forest. Who was calling his name? "Harry!" The voice seemed to be getting louder. "Harry!!!" The voice seemed mad. He felt himself being shaken. He opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure standing above him. He reached for his glasses and put them on. The blurry figure came into focus. It was Hermione. He looked around and saw that Ron looked annoyed.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! It's 5 in the morning!" Ron said groggily.

"Go tell your to-be-sister-in-law," Hermione sighed annoyed.

Harry and Ron entered the kitchen and were immediately greeted by the sight of people bustling all over the place. Mrs. Weasley breathlessly ordered them to eat some toast and then go help Fred and George set up the back yard for the next day's wedding. So, after eating a hurried breakfast, Ron and Harry went outside. The sight that met their eyes caused them to roar with laughter. Fred and George were having a "duel", turning each other into toys. Their fun was spoiled by the arrival of Mrs. Weasley.

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!!! THERE ARE LESS THAN 24 HOURS LEFT UNTIL YOUR BROTHER'S WEDDING AND HERE YOU ARE TURINING EACH OTHER INTO GOD-KNOWS-WHAT? STOP FOOLING AROUND THIS INSTANT AND GET TO WORK!!!" Mrs. Weasley yelled furiously. Fred and George cowered in front of her rage.

"Yes, Mum," they said meekly.

When she left them, Harry, Ron, Fred, and George began to set up the chairs for the wedding. Three hours later, they went inside for a snack.

"The dress is vay too tight…now it is vay too loose, Molly," Fleur whined. "Ouch!" Mrs. Weasley had poked her with a pin, "accidentally."

Ginny and Hermione were helping Fleur's sister, Gabrielle, with her flower girl dress. She wasn't too happy either.

Harry and the others got a quick bite to eat and headed back outside. "Let's play Quidditch for a while and then we can go back to work," suggested Fred. Everyone agreed and so they played, Ron and Harry versus Fred and George. The game was over within 5 minutes because Harry had caught the snitch. They went back to decorating the back yard.

At 12, everyone stampeded into the house for lunch. As they all sat down for Mrs. Weasley's hastily made yet delicious food, Harry noticed that Bill was comforting a sobbing Fleur. "What wrong with her?" he asked Ron, who was sitting next to him. Ron, whose mouth was already full with food, shrugged.

As Harry climbed into bed, well past midnight, he thought about the day. It had been very busy, but he had had fun with the Weasleys. His mind wandered to the Dursleys. They must have been surprised to see him gone, but probably ecstatic to have him off of their hands. He then remembered Ginny. He had caught her glancing at him all through dinner. He knew that she was sad that they had broken up and he was too, but Harry knew that it was the right thing to do. Soon after, Ron's snoring reminded Harry how late it was and he went to sleep.

The next day dawned bright and cloudless. Harry and Ron got out of bed quickly and put on their suits. They then hurried downstairs to have breakfast. Fleur and Bill were upstairs getting ready as well as Hermione and Ginny. The rest of the family was having breakfast.

"Come on, you two," urged Mrs. Weasley. "We have to be ready for the guests." As everyone was eating breakfast, Bill appeared at the kitchen door. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. "My baby! He's all grown up!" After she calmed down, Mrs. Weasley ordered Gabrielle to take breakfast up to Fleur because the bride and groom weren't allowed to see each other until the wedding.

Soon after, Fleur's parents arrived. They were every bit as annoying as Fleur and Gabrielle, if not more. "Zeze are ze decorations? Back home, we would have a grander wedding! Fleur! How thin you look! Have zeze people been starving you?" Everyone in the Weasley family rolled their eyes. They got back to work as the Delacour family reunion continued.

Harry and Ron were sent outside to greet the guests along with Mr. Weasley and Mr. Delacour. By 11 o'clock, nearly every seat was filled. There were only a few stragglers still entering. An old man wearing a pointed wizard's hat and a cloak that was too big for him paused at the entrance to talk to Mr. Weasley. Suddenly, he noticed Harry. "Is…Is that…Harry Pppotter?" Harry was used to it by now. Besides the people who he knew, everyone had been shocked to see the-boy-who-lived at the wedding. Harry escorted the old man to one of the few remaining seats. After a brief conversation with him, Harry returned to his station.

As he looked around, he recognized quite a few aurors. "So, your dad got this whole place protected by aurors?"

"Yeah, they didn't want to risk anything today," replied Ron absentmindedly. Noticing that Ron was acting a bit distracted, Harry turned to see what Ron was looking at. At the entrance to The Burrow, Harry saw two young women. One was wearing a creamy dress, her curly hair up in a bun with a few strands framing her face. The other was in a pale blue dress that made her look larger than life; her hair fell loosely around her shoulders. They were talking to each other and laughing as if they had no cares in the world. Suddenly, they looked up and noticed the two boys staring at them.

"Hi Harry, Ron!" called Hermione as she and Ginny walked toward them. Harry thought that the girls looked like delicate dolls; in fact, they were pretty enough to be angels.

"Ron, it's not nice to stare," Ginny giggled as Ron shut his wide-open mouth and tried to stammer out a reply. He was saved the effort when Mrs. Weasley called for the girls to go to their positions. They waved good-bye and followed Mrs. Weasley.

The organ started playing, signaling the start of the wedding. A hush fell upon the guests. One by one the ring bearer, the flower girls, and the others walked through the center aisle. Finally, Fleur and her father started towards the front. Fleur looked like a goddess. She was wearing a stunning white wedding gown and was smiling as if there was no one else there except the guy she loved, Bill Weasley. It seemed as if she was floating rather than walking because of her happiness. Everyone forgot how annoying Fleur was and just started to be happy because when someone looks so innocent and happy, you just can't help but be happy with him or her.

"Do you Bill Weasley take Fleur Delacour as your wife?"

"I do."

"And do you Fleur Delacour take Bill Weasley as you husband?"

"I do."

Everyone clapped. Ron was apparently so excited that he kissed Hermione, who was standing next to him.

"Ron!" Hermione said breathlessly. Ron turned as red as his flaming hair.

"I…I…I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me," he stammered, looking embarrassed.

Before Hermione had a chance to reply, Mr. Weasley tapped his glass for attention. After a brief speech, he concluded with a toast to the newly wed couple. As everyone was eating lunch the sound of fireworks was heard.

"For our big brother," Fred started, his voice magnified by the _sonorous_ charm.

"May you have an amazing," George added, his voice magnified as well.

"Spectacular"

"Jovial"

Mr. Weasley coughed loudly.

"And lovely life!" they chimed in together. All the guests stood and clapped while Fleur wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"What zweet brotherz you have!" said happily to Bill.

After the applause died down, everyone went back to conversing. Ron stood next to Harry as they ate. Hermione and Ginny stood opposite them. Harry and Ginny noticed the awkward glances Ron and Hermione were giving each other and had to look away to stop themselves from bursting into laughter. Finally, Harry said to Ginny, "Ginny, let's go for a walk!"

Ginny looked puzzled for a second but then caught on to the plan and followed Harry. After walking a few feet away, they both started laughing.

"Those two are the most oblivious people I have ever met," Harry said in between laughs.

"Yes, they are! They should just give each other a chance like we did," Ginny added before realizing what she had said. After that, they walked on in silence. Suddenly, Ginny stopped and turned to face Harry. "Harry, I can't do this anymore!" she said as she wrapped her hands around him and gave him a kiss. She could feel him tense up, become confused and then finally give in.

Harry pulled apart, "Ginny, I'm doing this to protect you. Voldemort isn't going to leave you alone once he finds out that you are my girlfriend. He'll use you to try to get to me. I can't let that happen! Why don't you understand? Trust me, it hurts me just as much as it hurts you."

"Harry, you don't have to be brave and heroic all the time. We can do this together. I'll always be with you and we'll take care of each other. When we are together, Voldemort won't be able to get to either of us."

"Ginny, we are nothing compared to him. He is more powerful than us and can kill us both in a flash. I don't want you to die!"

"I don't want you to die either. And if he can kill me, then he can kill you too. If I'm going to have to live without you, I might as well die anyway. Harry…I love you!"

Harry looked at Ginny, shocked. "I don't know when it happened, it just did. I couldn't stop myself. You don't have any say in love." Ginny continued.

"Ginny, I…I love you too," Harry whispered before pulling her into a deep kiss.

This time, it was Ginny who pulled apart. "So, can we be together?"

Harry shook his head, "I love you and that's why I'm trying to protect you."

"Harry, I'm already near the top of Voldemort's "To-Kill" list, just for being the sister of your best friend. How much worse can it be your girlfriend?"

"Ginny…"

"He'll just kill me sooner. But if I'm to die anyway, I want to spend the last moments of my life with you."

_Why was she so stubborn? Why didn't she understand?_ "I need to think about this. Until Hermione, Ron, and I make any more plans, we can be together. Okay?"

Ginny responded with a hug. She had her own plan ready anyway.

Suddenly, Harry looked up. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to Ginny.

"Hear what?" Ginny asked sounding frightened.

"Footsteps… Quick! Back to the wedding!" Harry ordered. They ran back to the wedding. As they walked through the gate, Harry turned and saw a tall man in a black cloak apparate. _It probably wasn't anything to worry about…_

How wrong he was….


	3. Midnight Discussions, Eavesdropping, and

Chapter Three

Midnight Discussions, Eavesdropping, and Kreacher

http://i16. room at midnight. Sound good?"

Ginny nodded as well, but when three glares were shot at her, she said quickly, "Alright, alright! I'll be asleep."

**Author's Note: **I am SOO SORRY for the long wait. It's been months since I updated, I know. It feels weird to be writing this when the seventh book has come out already. Let me know if you think I should continue.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot.

"Harry!" Ginny called anxiously. "Come on!" Hearing her voice, he turned away from thoughts of Apparating Death Eaters and walked towards where she was standing with Ron and Hermione.

When he saw Ron and Hermione, Harry fought the urge to laugh. There were the two most oblivious people standing together, holding hands, and grinning sheepishly. "Well, I'm glad you two finally understand each other," he chuckled.

"Yea, it only took you seven years," Ginny added.

"Hey! I resent that!" Hermione said, "and what about you and Harry? I see you two are back together. How long did that take?" She asked looking at Ron.

"Hmm, let's see. Six years for them to get together and half of a summer for Harry to realize his stupidity." Ron answered.

"Well, it's still less than you two," Harry muttered as Ginny stuck her tongue out at the couple across from her.

Ron hastily changed the subject. "Look how many people are left. It's not very many. That means we'll have to start cleaning up soon."

"I don't see Aunt Muriel anywhere," Ginny said while looking around.

"Aunt Muriel?" Harry and Hermione asked in unison.

"She's really our great-aunt. She dropped by for like five minutes and then left, saying that her legs hurt too much to stay, but we all know she doesn't approve of Bill marrying Fleur. Aunt Muriel doesn't quite trust foreigners and Fleur being part veela doesn't help either. I'm pretty sure she thinks Fleur cast a spell on Bill." Ron explained.

"You mean like hypnosis?" Hermione ventured.

"Hypnosis?" Ron asked confusedly.

"Never mind," Harry put in quickly, "By the way, we have to decide when we are going to talk about our 'job' and make plans."

"My room at midnight. Sound good?" Ron volunteered.

"That's fine," Hermione and Harry agreed.

Ginny nodded as well, but when three glares were shot at her, she said quickly, "Alright, alright! I'll be asleep."

"You better be," threatened Ron as Ginny rolled her eyes.

As the sun was setting, it cast a soft orange glow upon those who were left at Bill and Fleur's wedding. It added to the lights coming from floating lanterns, which had been invisible until the right time. The glow illuminated the family gathered around the newly weds who were leaving to go to their new house. Bill and Fleur Weasley departed with many tears, hugs, and promises of frequent visits. Soon after they had left in their carriage, which had a disillusionment charm cast upon it as well as Remus and Tonks to watch out for them, the Delacours decided it was time to leave as well.

"Zank you very much for taking care of our daughter. We had a, how do you say it, brilliant time," Mr. Delacour said to the Weasleys.

"Oui, we enjoyed being in England very much. It is quite a change from France. And zank you again Monsieur at Madame Weasley!" added Mrs. Delacour. "Et toi, Gabrielle? Tu ne veux pas dire quel que chose?" She said to her younger daughter in rapid french.

"Mais bien sûr! Thank you very much for everything! And thank you Monsieur Potter for saving me three years ago!" Gabrielle said, much to the embarrassment of a dark haired, skinny boy.

The Weasleys smiled and said their thanks to the Delacours for providing such a wonderful daughter/sister-in-law. After kissing all the Weasleys (Harry and Hermione included) on both cheeks, Mr. and Mrs. Delacour each took one of Gabrielle's hands and Apparated back to France.

Mrs. Weasley collapsed on a chair and huffed at a flyaway strand of hair so that it fluttered up and rested once again on her nose. "Why don't we just leave cleaning to tomorrow?" she proposed.

Trying not to sound too excited, everyone muttered his or her agreement and trooped off to bed.

Harry checked his watch; it was 10 o'clock. He and Ron were leaning against Ron's bed while eating chocolate frogs.

"Look I got Merlin! Finally! I've been waiting so long to add him to my collection!" Ron exclaimed as he unwrapped yet another chocolate frog. He sprang up and placed it on top of the dangerously teetering pile of cards.

Harry unwrapped his last chocolate frog. He sighed when he saw who it was: Dumbledore. He couldn't hold back the onslaught of memories: the first time he'd seen the card on the Hogwarts Express in his first year, saving the Sorcerer's Stone for Dumbledore's friend Nicholas Flammel, giving Dumbledore the sword of Gryffindor, Dumbledore helping Harry and Hermione rescue Sirius and Buckbeak….

Ron nudged Harry and whispered, "Harry! Mum's coming! We have to pretend to be asleep."

They both got up quickly and got under the covers of their beds. A minute later, Harry could hear Ron's bedroom door open and Mrs. Weasley sticking her head in the room to make sure they were sleeping. Harry was sure that she had given Ron an odd look for his abnormally loud snores. After confirming that Ron and Harry were indeed safe in bed and not attacked by Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, she left the room and closed the door softly. Five minutes later, Harry and Ron sat up in their beds and Ron whispered Lumos, creating a small glowing light to erupt from his wand. They sat there, softly whispering about how the wedding was, Quidditch, what Voldemort and the Death Eaters were up to, Quidditch, Hogwarts, and more Quidditch.

At midnight Hermione quietly opened the door and snuck in. "Was Ginny asleep?" Harry asked her.

"Yea, she went to sleep ages ago," Hermione answered as she gave Ron a small smile.

"Okay then, we have to start planning. We've already waited to long," muttered the boy-who-lived. Hermione and Ron nodded quickly.

Hermione pulled out parchment, a quill, and ink from Ron's overcrowded desk and joined Harry and Ron on the ground.

"What we have to decide is: should we go to Hogwarts or go out to search for Horcruxes while in hiding?" Ron said, stating the obvious question.

"I think we should go to Hogwarts. Then, if we need to ask Dumbledore's portrait, or go to the library, or ask the teachers something, it will be easier. We're also less likely to get killed that way," Hermione suggested.

"Are you sure you guys want to risk your lives and help me?" Harry asked hesitantly.

Ron looked at Hermione and groaned. "Is it just me or does he ask this every year?"

Hermione nodded and said, "And every year, we say the same thing: 'Yes Harry, we do.'"

"Then you'd think he would have understood by now."

"Fine! I just don't want you to blame me when you are inches from death. Alright?"

"Yes sir, Harry Potter, sir!" Ron said monotonously and with a salute.

"_Anyway_, now that we have _that_ settled. Harry, do you think we should go to Hogwarts or start the search on our own?" Hermione whispered in a tone that was quite like Professor Umbridge's.

"I don't know. Let's make a list of all the Horcruxes and where they could be. Then if most of them are possibly in Hogwarts, we can go there." Harry responded.

"Alright. There is the snake, which would most probably be with Voldemort." Ron started. Hermione quickly wrote it down. In the end, their list looked like this:

HorcruxLocation

Nagini, the snakeWith Voldemort

The diaryDESTROYED

The ringDESTROYED

The cupSomewhere that has to do with Hufflepuff

The locketDESTROYED(?)

UnknownSomewhere that has to do with Ravenclaw

UnknownSomewhere that has to do with Gryffindor

"Well, most of these look like they would be close to Hogwarts since that was not only the home of the four founders, but also Tom Riddle's home," Hermione concluded.

"That sounds right, but I still want to make sure that the locket is destroyed," Harry said.

"Okay. So you said that some guy named RAB was going to destroy the locket. Can I see the fake one for a minute?" Ron asked. Harry pulled it out of his shirt pocket.

As the "S" on the locket glinted in the wand light, Hermione let out a gasp. "Doesn't that look like the one in Grimmauld Place? The one we tried to open, but couldn't?"

"I thought it looked familiar. Where could it be now? Didn't we throw it all away?" Harry said, dangling the locket in front of the other two.

"Wait a minute! Wasn't Kreacher taking some of the Black family heirlooms that we were going to throw away?" Ron whispered excitedly. They all looked at each other.

"Should I call him?" Harry asked in a low voice?

"But don't house-elves make a sound when they Apparate? It will definitely wake someone up," Hermione said fretfully.

"Are you a witch or not?" Ron repeated the same line that he had said in their first year when encountering Devil's Snare. This resulted in a round of hearty chuckles from the trio.

"Fine, we'll use the Muffliato charm," Hermione decided.

"I thought you didn't approve of it?" Ron teased.

"It has its uses once in a while. Are you ready Harry?" And when Harry nodded, Hermione cast the charm upon the three of them, much to the dismay of the owner of the Extendable Ear just outside the door.

"KREACHER! Come here!" Harry stated clearly. A crack rippled through the stony silence and a very dismal looking house elf stood in front of Harry, muttering about "the filth who called himself Kreacher's master".

"Kreacher, did you take that golden locket that wouldn't open?" Hermione asked kindly while shooting a death glare at Harry for being so rude in his orders. Apparently Kreacher was oblivious to such tactics, as he did not answer.

"Kreacher, I order you to bring me that locket with the green S on it, right now," Harry said sternly, losing his patience after the house elf's rudeness. While constantly stating obscenities under his breath, Kreacher Disapparted.

"See, Hermione. House elves don't care how nice you are," Ron said.

"Rubbish. It's only because he isn't used to anyone being kind to him," Hermione defended. Personally, Harry agreed with Ron but chose not to say anything. Thankfully, Kreacher returned before either of them asked for his opinion.

"And poor Kreacher is forced to give Master Regulus Arcturus Black's locket to mudbloods and blood traitors. What would Mistress Black say?" Kreacher said woefully.

Ignoring Kreacher's comment, Harry studied the locket. It looked exactly like the fake one. But this one felt warm like a human heart rather than cold like the fake one. "This is it," Harry said to the others. To Kreacher, he said: "Go back to Grimmauld Place and thanks for the locket."

"How are we going to destroy it?" Ron asked.

"Not now. I need to research it. I'll find out and tell you at Hogwarts. That is, if we're going." She said hesitantly.

"I think we should go," Harry said and Ron agreed.

After hearing Hermione yawn, they all decide that it was time to end the discussion and go to bed.

"We'll probably get our Hogwarts letter and then go to Diagon Alley tomorrow," Hermione said as she removed the Muffliato charm. At this Ginny quickly reeled in her Extendable Ear and hurried off to bed. After wishing Harry and Ron good night, Hermione went to bed as well.

"Well, mate, we're going back to our last year of Hogwarts, hunting for horcruxes, vanquishing Voldemort, and dating girls all in one go!" Ron exclaimed happily as he lay in bed.

"Yea," Harry said while trying to control a throbbing pain from his scar.

**Author's Note: **Review please!!!


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